After the huge sales years in 2016 and 2017, things cooled quickly when the new mortgage stress test was put into place, but now CADREB is also blaming extra taxes imposed on foreign buyers and even the slumping oil industry.

“We are seeing very little migration from the west, into our area compared to the last two years,” CADREB president-elect Kyle Nason said in a press release issued Tuesday.

“The stress test imposed by the federal government almost a year ago continues to play the biggest role.”

The 37.7 per cent drop locally is actually lower than in the larger Fraser Valley Real Estate Board to the west, where sales dropped 41 per cent.

In Greater Vancouver sales dropped even more, 43 per cent, the lowest number of sales recorded in November in a decade.

Of the 177 sales last month, 98 were single family homes ($612,035 average price), 45 were townhouses ($441,242 average price) and just 19 were townhouses ($231,474).

Eight homes sold over the $1 million mark, including one for more than $2 million.

“While we have seen some moderate adjustments based on supply and demand, prices have settled into a comfortable level,” Nason said. “There are still buyers out there, but sellers need to ensure that their home is listed correctly for market conditions, and be prepared to wait a little longer.”

The sales to active ratio is at 16 per cent, which CADREB says indicates a balanced housing market for Chilliwack and surrounding area.

The Board expects to see a modest increase in sales in early 2019, and is encouraged by the number of local listings on the market. At the end of November, there were 1,272 listings on the market, compared to just 766 homes on the market at the same time last year.